German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized on Monday for the way Germany handled the hostage-taking at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Eleven Israelis were murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group during the hostage crisis on September 5 of that year. On Monday, the German president and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog laid a wreath during the memorial ceremony.
“We are talking about a great tragedy and a triple failure,” Steinmeier said during the ceremony, which was also attended by relatives of the victims. The first mistake for which an apology was made was related to the lack of security measures at the Games, the second to the hostage situation itself and the third to the denial and “silence” in the aftermath of the terror attack. Last Wednesday it was already announced that Germany will pay 28 million euros in damages to the relatives of the 11 Israeli victims.
Monday marks the 50th anniversary of eight members of the Palestinian terror group Black September invading the Olympic village. They shot dead two Israeli athletes and took nine other Israeli athletes and officials hostage. The German authorities responded to the hostage takers’ demand to send helicopters to take the hostages and hostage takers to the airport. When fire was opened on the helicopters on arrival at Munich airport, the hostage takers killed all occupants. Three hostage takers were arrested, but later released under pressure from another hostage action.
The ceremony took place at the same airport where the tragedy took place. “We can’t make up for what happened,” Steinmeier told the next of kin before asking for “forgiveness.” “That makes me ashamed.”
Also read: Widow Ankie Rechess only now knows who killed her Israeli husband at Munich ’72: ‘I sent him to his death’
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